n8n-core-architecture

n8n-core-architecture is a skill for Claude Code, Codex from Impertio-Studio/n8n-Claude-Skill-Package. It costs 123 tokens per session (2,937 once invoked), scanned A, original, MIT.

A guide to how n8n processes automated workflows as data items moving between nodes. It explains node types, expressions, binary files, errors, and the ways n8n runs workflows on one process or across workers.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when building or debugging n8n workflows, creating custom nodes, handling files, connecting sub-workflows, or investigating execution behavior.
Why use it?
It helps prevent incorrect data structures and misunderstandings about how data moves through an n8n workflow.

Skill for Claude CodeCodex

Written for no agent in particular: nothing here depends on one. Also seen: mentions Claude Code.

Good fit Use it when building or debugging n8n workflows, creating custom nodes, handling files, connecting sub-workflows, or investigating execution behavior.

Compare 6 skills from other repositories ↓
Install with agentmods
npx agentmods add skills/impertio-studio/n8n-claude-skill-package/n8n-core-architecture
Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

Any agent
npx skills add Impertio-Studio/n8n-Claude-Skill-Package --skill n8n-core-architecture
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Impertio-Studio/n8n-Claude-Skill-Package

Made for: Claude Code, Codex.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for n8n-core-architecture

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/impertio-studio/n8n-claude-skill-package/n8n-core-architecture/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/skills/impertio-studio/n8n-claude-skill-package/n8n-core-architecture)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/impertio-studio/n8n-claude-skill-package/n8n-core-architecture"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/impertio-studio/n8n-claude-skill-package/n8n-core-architecture/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for n8n-core-architecture

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/impertio-studio/n8n-claude-skill-package/n8n-core-architecture"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/impertio-studio/n8n-claude-skill-package/n8n-core-architecture.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 123 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 2,937 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.00123 $0.02937
Opus 5 $0.00062 $0.01469
Sonnet 5 $0.00025 $0.00587
Haiku 4.5 $0.00012 $0.00294

Measured 11d ago against content hash 9515a70e3734, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-11, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

n8n-core-architecture scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 11d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

skills/source/n8n-core/n8n-core-architecture/SKILL.md · 318 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 318 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

n8n-core-architecture

Quick Reference

Architecture Layers (n8n v1.x)

Layer Technology Role
Execution Engine Node.js + TypeScript Processes workflows as item sequences through nodes
Item Pipeline INodeExecutionData Carries JSON data, binary files, paired items, and errors
Node System INodeType interface Defines trigger, regular, webhook, polling, and declarative nodes
Expression Engine Data Proxy Provides $json, $input, $binary, $execution, $workflow, $node
Process Model Main / Worker / Queue Scales from single-process to distributed queue mode
Workflow Settings IWorkflowSettings Controls timezone, error handling, execution timeout, execution order

Execution Modes (WorkflowExecuteMode)

Mode Trigger
manual User clicks "Execute Workflow" in editor
webhook HTTP webhook received
trigger Trigger node activated (schedule, poll)
retry Retrying a failed execution
cli Command-line execution
error Error workflow triggered
integrated Sub-workflow called from another workflow
internal Internal system execution
evaluation Evaluation/test execution
chat Chat-based trigger

Node Types

Type Method Inputs Group
Regular execute() Has inputs ['transform'], ['input'], ['output']
Event Trigger trigger() No inputs ['trigger']
Webhook Trigger webhook() No inputs ['trigger']
Polling Trigger poll() No inputs ['trigger'] (with polling: true)
Declarative None (routing config) Has inputs Any

Critical Warnings

NEVER return a flat INodeExecutionData[] from execute() -- ALWAYS wrap in an outer array: return [returnData]. The outer array represents output indices (for multi-output nodes like IF/Switch).

NEVER mutate input items directly -- ALWAYS create new item objects. Mutating input items causes data corruption in downstream nodes that share the same reference.

Read the full file on GitHub · 318 lines

Files

What ships with it

3 files beside SKILL.md in the same directory: the scripts, references and assets a skill reads on demand. Not counted in the per-session cost; read them before you install if any of them is executable.

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 11d ago First seen · 318 lines · 123 tokens per session scan A 9515a70e3734

Subscribe to this mod's changes

n8n-core-architecture is a skill published in the GitHub repository Impertio-Studio/n8n-Claude-Skill-Package (3 stars, last pushed 2mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 123 tokens to every session and 2,937 once invoked, about $0.0006 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-31.

Related

Other skills, from other repositories

add-matrix

Add Matrix channel integration via Chat SDK. Works with any Matrix homeserver.

nanocoai/nanoclaw · 19 tokens

n8n-subworkflows

Build reusable, composable n8n sub-workflows. Use when extracting shared logic, building anything multi-step or reused across workflows, or any workflow over 10 nodes — and whenever the user mentions sub-workflows, Execute Workflow, reuse, shared/common logic, modular workflows, "Define Below" inputs…

czlonkowski/n8n-mcp · 121 tokens

n8n-code-tool

Write JavaScript or Python for the n8n Custom Code Tool (@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolCode) — the AI-agent-callable tool, NOT the workflow Code node. Use when building a Code Tool attached to an AI Agent, writing code that an LLM will invoke, parsing the query input, returning a string result, defining an input schema…

czlonkowski/n8n-mcp · 221 tokens

django-storages-s3

Use when configuring Django to store static and media files on AWS S3 with django-storages. Invoke when working with the STORAGES setting, S3 buckets, presigned URLs, CloudFront, or boto3-backed file storage in settings.py. Configures the Django 4.2+ STORAGES dict, public/private custom backends, presigned GET/POST…

Jeffallan/claude-skills · 138 tokens

laravel-specialist

Build and configure Laravel 10+ applications, including creating Eloquent models and relationships, implementing Sanctum authentication, configuring Horizon queues, designing RESTful APIs with API resources, and building reactive interfaces with Livewire. Use when creating Laravel models, setting up queue workers…

Jeffallan/claude-skills · 86 tokens

cognito

AWS Cognito user authentication and authorization service. Use when setting up user pools, configuring identity pools, implementing OAuth flows, managing user attributes, or integrating with social identity providers.

itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills · 38 tokens